Correction: US-China Tariffs-The Latest story

July 13, 2018

BEIJING (AP) — In a story July 12 about the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war, The Associated Press erroneously reported that 200,000 jobs at an Alabama Hyundai plant could be jeopardized if the U.S. imposes higher auto tariffs. The plant employs 3,500 people.

A corrected version of the story is below:

The Latest: China seafood importers feel trade dispute pinch

Chinese seafood merchants say they have already begun buying lobster and fish from other countries as tariffs make American seafood too expensive

BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the U.S.-China trade dispute (all times local):

11:30 p.m.

Chinese seafood merchants say they have already begun buying lobster and fish from other countries as tariffs make American seafood too expensive.

Washington last week imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese products. Beijing responded by imposing similar duties on the same amount of US imports.

On a visit to Beijing’s largest wholesale seafood market, The Associated Press found scant American fish or crustaceans for sale.

Fish brought to Beijing’s Jingshen market are sold to distributors to source restaurants and grocers all across China.

The recent 25 percent tariff has made American lobster unaffordable, according to Beijing seafood distributor Ma Mengjie.

Zhang Song, general manager of a lobster and crab import shop, said he considers American lobsters inferior in quality to those from Canada. Now that they’re also more expensive, “we would be even less likely to import American ones, right?

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9:30 p.m.

China is trying to step up pressure on Washington in a growing tariff war by suggesting U.S. companies lobby American leaders.

A spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry says Beijing and Washington have yet to resume negotiations over the dispute that led to tariffs on each other’s goods last week.

Gao Feng says China hopes American companies do more to lobby the U.S. government and work hard to safeguard their own interests.

While some U.S. companies and lawmakers have criticized Trump’s tactics, Gao’s statement was an unusually direct attempt to rouse domestic American opposition. Beijing frequently rejects foreign comments about its own policies as improper interference in its affairs.

Gao gave no details. His remark about lobbying was missing from an official transcript on the ministry’s website, suggesting officials recognized its potential sensitivity.

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2:45 p.m.

Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on a mission to salvage business deals threatened by a tariff war, says Chinese officials expressed confidence during his visit to Beijing that they can survive the spiraling dispute with Washington.

Emanuel said Thursday that he met with Vice President Wang Qishan and China’s commerce minister this week in an effort to lock in a $1.3 billion deal for a Chinese company to assemble rail cars in Chicago.

Beijing’s tariff battle with President Donald Trump has rattled businesses that worry trade and investment will be disrupted.

Emanuel says, “They wanted to communicate obviously that this is not their preference. They would rather work something out, but they’re not scared if this is where it goes.”

The labor union at South Korea’s largest auto company says if President Donald Trump goes ahead with imposing 25 percent auto tariffs, it will hurt Hyundai’s U.S. sales and jeopardize jobs at a Hyundai factory in Alabama.

The union also says South Korean carmakers were already penalized during the renegotiations of the bilateral trade agreement. Seoul and Washington agreed to postpone the removal of tariffs on Korean pickup trucks by another 20 years.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is investigating whether auto imports pose enough national security threats to justify tariffs. The European Union warned auto tariffs could lead to global retaliation.

Hyundai Motor is the world’s fifth-largest automaker along with Kia Motors.